1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to online collaboration, and more particularly, to an online sharing, tracking and collaboration system that is transparently integrated with system e-mail and does not require prior registration from users.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of task management systems are known in the conventional art. For example, Microsoft Outlook allows a user to send invitations or tasks to other users. Other systems essentially replicate the concept of Microsoft Outlook in an online form, where a server presents web pages to registered users, and those registered users can then perform various activities relating to the tasks.
However, one of the common problems is that for an individual user to assign a task to another user, that user must already be a user of the system. For example, in the case of Microsoft Outlook, unless all of the people to whom the tasks are assigned are users of the same e-mail system, assigning and tracking of the tasks to users outside of the e-mail system is impossible.
A number of online collaboration systems are known in the conventional art. For example, Google Docs allows users to edit documents collaboratively online. However, one of the common problems is that for an individual to share Google document with another individual, he must do it from the Google Docs system. An individual cannot simply share a document in Google Docs by sending an e-mail to someone from Outlook Express. As another example, Basecamp (www.basecamphq.com) allows users collaborating on same documents or projects, but the user is asked to create a new collaboration workspace for all new projects. The users receive a notification e-mail if new projects are added or if some changes are made in the existing projects, but the users need to login into their account to work with the projects.
Another problem with prior art collaborative systems is that they do not allow using the specific e-mail address for sharing documents or projects with other users. For example, Backpack (www.backpackit.com) allows user to share some information with others by using e-mails, but the user needs to create a new online page with notes, to-do lists, or files using the web interface of the system, and then the system generates a unique e-mail address for that specific page. After that the user can share or update the page by using the e-mail, but the user needs to remember the unique e-mail addresses for all pages that he created. If the user confuses the e-mail address and sends e-mail with some information to the wrong system e-mail address, a wrong page will be updated.
A number of online social networks are also known in the conventional art. For example, LinkedIn allows professionals to log into a web-site and manage their personal connections to other registered users. However, they cannot simply send an e-mail to someone from any e-mail client and activate an invitation from LinkedIn system by this e-mail.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system and method for a more effective online collaboration.